2. Canon DSLR
As with our interview video during the research stage, we filmed our
music video using Ben’s Canon EOS 650D DSLR camera. We decided
to use this as opposed to the video cameras owned by the college as
the image quality is just as good and the camera was available for us to
use 24/7. As the camera belongs to Ben, he had a lot of experience
using it, a valuable asset to our group. Also, other group
members, myself included, had used DSLR cameras to take photos for
our AS Coursework; although the objective differs, we were able to
transfer these skills. We also had access to the accessories that Ben
had purchased for his camera e.g. different lenses and lights etc. A
major advantage of using a DSLR camera as opposed to other video
cameras is their use of SD Cards instead of DV tapes which would
have increased the cost of our video. As we had a large number of SD
cards within the group, there was no need to purchase any extra
equipment for filming. An issue that we encountered when filming our
in-car narrative sections was that the camera lens would keep fogging
due to the cold temperatures outside and the heat of the actors’ breath.
3. Canon DSLR
We used the same camera to take the photos for our website and digipak as we already had experience using it. Ben decided that we should
set the camera up so that it takes one JPEG and one RAW image; the
RAW images are a lot higher quality but can only be viewed in
Photoshop, therefore we can see what the image looks like from the
JPEG and use the RAW image.
We also used another Canon EOS 550D DSLR camera to take behind
the scenes photos and videos. Although this is not as high quality as
our filming camera, it was sufficient for taking simple images to show
our progress. Its similarity to Ben’s camera meant that it was easy to
transfer the knowledge we had from our research and planning.
4. Adobe Premiere Pro
As a group we decided to use the industry-standard editing software
Adobe Premiere Pro on Ben’s laptop instead of Final Cut. Myself and
Jacob had used the latter to edit our preliminary task video and, when
comparing with Premiere Pro, found it more difficult to use. We also
considered the value of completing our post-production on a computer
that we could use outside of college time, at least one group member
had access to the laptop at all times. Our experience with using this
software throughout the research and planning stages meant that we
all understand how to edit music, images and sound using Premiere
Pro, reducing the amount of time that it took to insert and position clips.
A useful feature for us were the colour correction and grading options
as we had to alter many of the shots we had taken outside due to the
fading light throughout the shoot.
5. iMovie
In order to edit together the behind the scenes photographs and
footage, I used iMovie; an incredibly basic editing software. I used this
instead of Premiere Pro as I had all of the footage and images at home
and didn’t have access to any other editing software. Its simplicity
meant that I could learn how to use it very quickly and it didn’t take long
to finish the video.
6. Lighting
Before production I had no experience with lighting, fortunately, Ben
had experience lighting a theatre so was more knowledgeable that
myself and the other group members. For the outside, daytime scenes
we relied on natural light and post-production, but the night-time and
inside shoots were more complicated. Our first performance section
took place in the middle of Horsell Common so we not only had to find
lights, but also a generator to power them. We used two floodlights in
front of the band and two smaller lights behind. This created a great
effect as the band appear to be completely separate to the darkness
that encircles them, however, this caused problems in filming as when
we tried to move with the camera we caused shadows.
7. Lighting
For our in-car narrative, we used three smaller lights, one at the front to
light the driver and passenger seats, and the other two around the
sides to light the back seats. Fortunately we were outside a house so
were able to power the lights using extension leads. To overcome the
issue of making a stationary car appear as if it were moving, Ben
suggested that we rotate a smaller LED light in front of the car to give
the allusion that streetlights were passing by. Although this was a good
idea, it required someone to constantly rotate the light at a steady
speed, a tedious job which both cast and crew members shared.
8. Social Networks
Again, these allowed us to communicate with one another when
meeting up to edit or share the details of a shoot with our cast
members. However, they also allowed us to connect to our target
audience who use social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
We created band accounts and pages on a range of sites
including, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. From
our research, we had learnt that it was common for bands to include
social media links on their websites so we decided to insert a Twitter
feed into our website homepage. Harrison sent numerous tweets
promoting the album and tour as well as encouraging fans to watch the
video. The main issue that we faced when creating these accounts was
that all of the websites, apart from Twitter, were blocked on the college
internet, therefore we had to create the other accounts at home.
9. Adobe Photoshop
Having all used Photoshop for our AS coursework, it was an obvious
choice for our digi-pak construction as we all had knowledge about how to
use it and had refreshed our memories in the creation of pre-visualisations.
We used an online template to ensure that the measurements were correct
and constructed the digi-pak and booklet using Photoshop. The main
features that we used were the ‘marquee’, ‘move’, ‘selection’, and ‘shape’
tools. However, this year I developed my skills by learning how to overlay
textures and how to correctly alter the colours of images. I also used the
‘magic wand tool’ to remove the background from the typeface that I had
screenshotted. The different layers in Photoshop allowed us to develop
different logo variations e.g. we could show a different logo by adding or
removing the black stripes over the red bull.
We also used Photoshop to create the banner and edit the images for the
website. Our feedback was that the background image for the website was
too light, so Ben made it darker using Photoshop.
10. Adobe Photoshop
In order to create the cartoon-style icons on our website banner, Jacob
rotoscoped images and filled in the colours that we wanted to use.
Although it originally took him a while to get used to the software, he
soon managed to create each image in a matter of minutes. The overall
effect of these icons is creative and fun and allowed us to improve our
webpage.
11. Dafont.com
In order to incorporate the typeface that we selected in our planning
section, DeathRattleBB, we had to either download it onto the computer
or screenshot the text from the website and insert it into Photoshop. As
we did not have permission to download anything onto the college
computers, Ben downloaded it onto his laptop and we used
screenshots for many of the titles. This was more time consuming than
just typing the font out as we had to remove the background and recolour it.
12. Moonfruit
Although we originally planned to create our website using Adobe
Muse, we changed our minds once we discovered that we would have
to pay for server space. We instead opted to use online creator
Moonfruit. This was incredibly useful as we could all access it from our
home computers and would not need to pass one laptop around as we
had done for our video editing. This technology was very simple to use
and we all picked it up very quickly. A particular feature which proved to
be useful was the option to select the exact positioning of a text or
image etc. along the x and y axis. This meant that we could be sure
that everything is lined up exactly. We were also able to easily insert a
Twitter feed, YouTube video, music player, and photo slideshow onto
the page. However, we had problems viewing the photo slideshow as
the website that we had used ‘Photosnack’, was blocked on the college
computers. Because of this we had to view the completed page at
home and make any changes concerning the slideshow on other
computers.
13. Conclusion
To conclude, the inclusion of new technologies in our project has made
it more interesting to create and look at. It has allowed us to remain
organised and produce high-quality, professional products. Although
there were weaknesses to each technology, we have learnt to
overcome issues and improve our knowledge and skills. I have
improved my knowledge of software such as Photoshop and have
learnt how to create interesting products using simple tools. The
knowledge that I have gained over the course of this project has helped
me to value the importance of technology in today’s society.
